What Is A Passing MBE Score For My State?

What Is A Passing MBE Score For My State?

In this post, we cover the passing MBE score for each state, plus U.S. territories that administer a bar exam. We also tell you about how many questions you should be answering correctly to get that passing score.

Note that the vast majority of states do not have a requisite MBE score. So long as you receive an overall passing score on the bar exam, you will pass! For example, New York requires a 266 to pass the exam. Thus, if you received a score of 133 on the MBE and a score of 133 on the written portion, you would pass. However, you do not need a score of 133 on each. Instead, you could get a score of 140 on the written portion and 126 on the MBE and still pass. (There are some exceptions – like Kentucky requires a score of 132 minimum on the MBE. South Dakota requires a minimum score of 135. And Palau requires a minimum score of 120.) Generally, however, the majority of states do not have a minimum passing MBE score.

What Is A Passing MBE Score For My State?

Alabama: 130

Alaska: 140

Arizona: 136.5

Arkansas: 135

California: 144

Colorado: 138

Connecticut: 133

Delaware: 145

D.C.: 133

Florida: 136

Georgia: 135

Hawaii: 134

Idaho: 136

Illinois: 133

Indiana: 132

Iowa: 133

Kansas: 133

Kentucky: 132

Louisiana: Louisiana does not administer the MBE, and thus, does not have a passing score.

Maine: 138

Maryland: 135.3

Massachusetts: 135

Michigan: 135

Minnesota: 130

Mississippi: 132

Missouri: 130

Montana: 133

Nebraska: 135

Nevada: 140

New Hampshire: 135

New Jersey: 133

New Mexico: 130

New York: 133

North Carolina: 140

North Dakota: 130

Ohio: 135

Oklahoma: 135

Oregon: 137

Pennsylvania: 136

Rhode Island: 138

South Carolina: 133

South Dakota: 135

Tennessee: 135

Texas: 135

Utah: 135

Vermont: 135

Virginia: 140

Washington: 135

West Virginia: 135

Wisconsin: 129

Wyoming: 135

Guam: 132.5

Northern Mariana Islands: 130

Palau: 120

Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico does not administer the MBE, and thus, does not have a passing score.

Depending on the curve used, generally between 14 and 19 points are added to your “raw” score.

A 118 out of 190 scored questions (62.1%) has led to a scaled score of 136 – 138 in the past (+18-20 points).

If you scored 120 out of 190 scored questions (63%), this has lead to a scaled score of 137 to 139 in the past (+17-19 points).

Note, as of February 2017, only 175 questions are scored. However, the scale the NCBE uses should make up for the fact that less questions are scored and if you are scoring about 60-66% correct, you may very well be in the “passing zone” depending on your state’s passage rate.